‘Oh, we can be scary,’ said Sean, looking fierce, although the blob of tomato sauce on his nose spoiled the effect.
‘Who is Katie?’ interrupted Serena.
Nicola explained the whole story to Serena and Joshua.
When she’d finished, Serena and Joshua were shaking their heads.
‘Every time I think Enrico couldn’t get any more evil, he does,’ said Joshua. ‘And you say he’s planning to burn all your tongues like he did to Silent Fred? How did you find that out?’
‘I read his mind,’ explained Shimlara. ‘I’m from Globagaskar. We can read minds there.’
‘Oh sure!’ said Joshua. ‘You can read minds. What am I thinking right now?’
He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
Shimlara looked at him and Nicola saw her cheeks go pink.
‘You’re ummm . . .’
‘I knew you couldn’t do it!’
Shimlara looked down at her lap with a little half-smile. She said, ‘You’re wondering if all the girls on Globagaskar are as pretty as me.’
Sean guffawed and Joshua’s face turned scarlet. ‘How did you do that? Don’t do that again! I won’t be able to think anything private!’
‘I only read your mind because you asked me to,’ said Shimlara. ‘I won’t do it again. It’s bad manners to read people’s minds.’ Nicola had never seen her look so flustered.
‘So anyway,’ said Nicola, deciding it was a good time to change the subject. ‘On our way here we met an interesting old man named Horatio. He told us about a clause in Shobble’s Constitution that says if you get enough people to sign a petition the length of a rainbow, the Commander-in-Chief has to resign.’
‘Really?’ Serena looked interested, but then her face dropped. ‘All Enrico would have to do is get his Thugs to tear up the petition.’
‘Horatio also told us that Enrico used to have all these phobias when he was a boy,’ said Nicola. ‘I was thinking maybe we could use those phobias in some way.’
‘He was frightened of the colour yellow, music, buttons and peanut butter sticking to the roof of his mouth,’ said Tyler, counting them off on his fingers.
‘That was when he was a little boy. He might have grown out of those phobias by now,’ said Greta.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Serena slowly. ‘When Enrico first came into power he introduced the Quiet-Please decree. It bans music of all forms – singing, musical instruments, even humming!’
‘And he brought in the Anti-Yellow legislation,’ said Joshua. ‘The penalty for wearing yellow on Shobble is life imprisonment.’
‘And then there’s the Button-Free regulation,’ said Serena. ‘All clothes have to be made without buttons – only zippers allowed.’
‘And we’re a Peanut-Butter-Free planet,’ said Joshua. ‘I thought Enrico had a peanut allergy but he’s just scared of it sticking to the roof of his mouth!’
‘So the question is,’ said Nicola, ‘could we use all those phobias in some way to help overthrow Enrico?’
‘We could organise a big protest march,’ began Tyler slowly.
‘And everyone could wear yellow clothes,’ said Sean.
‘And we could all be singing or playing musical instruments,’ said Joshua.
‘And eating peanut butter sandwiches!’ said Serena.
‘I’m allergic,’ said Greta.
‘Okay, well not everyone,’ said Serena.
‘Don’t forget the buttons,’ said Nicola.
‘We could all be wearing yellow buttons!’ said Shimlara.
‘We could present the petition as long as a rainbow at the same time,’ said a voice from the other side of the cave.
They all looked around. It was Topaz, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes.
She threw back the covers and leapt out of bed.
‘This could work,’ she said. ‘If we got every single person on the planet of Shobble to march, this could totally work.’
Joshua tipped his chair back, clasped his hands behind his head and looked smug. ‘Told you she wasn’t serious about giving up the cause,’ he said.
33
Topaz stood at the whiteboard writing down people’s ideas as they called them out excitedly. She had to keep stopping to blow her nose and she was sucking on a (chocolate-flavoured) cough lolly, but her depression seemed to have lifted. The vibrant girl in the photo was back. Nicola admired the unselfconscious way Topaz led the group. She wasn’t too bossy but at the same time she didn’t try too hard to make people like her. When Sean and Joshua started yawning and throwing things at each other while Greta told a long involved story about a gymnastics competition that was meant to demonstrate some point, Topaz calmly told Sean and Joshua to stop it and Greta to hurry up. Everyone seemed to respect her. Was it simply because Topaz didn’t have any self-doubt? Was being a leader like handling a ferocious dog? ‘Never let the dog see your fear,’ Nicola’s dad always told her.
‘Oh, I’m sorry, Nicola.’ Topaz caught her eye. ‘You should be up here too. You’re the leader of the Space Brigade. I’m such a bossy boots.’
‘Oh, no, that’s okay.’ Nicola felt shy.
‘No, no. You and I will be joint leaders of this operation,’ insisted Topaz. ‘If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be lying in bed feeling sorry for myself.’
Nicola went up to the front and took the whiteboard marker that Topaz handed her.
‘Okay, what do you think we’ve forgotten?’ asked Topaz.
For a moment, Nicola’s mind went blank. FOCUS, she told herself. Katie’s encouraging face appeared in her mind, saying, ‘You can do it, Nic.’ Nicola realised how stupid it was to be worrying what people thought of her when Katie was being held hostage, for heaven’s sake! That was all that mattered. Rescuing Katie. Her mind became sharp and clear.
‘All right,’ she said. ‘We need to figure out a way to let as many people as possible know about the march. How do we do that?’
‘Newspaper,’ contributed Serena. ‘It would be great if we could get an article in the newspaper, telling everybody where and when to meet.’
‘Excellent!’ said Nicola and wrote the word newspaper up on the whiteboard. She managed to ignore Sean, who was making a cross-eyed face at her, and said, ‘So how do we get an article in the newspaper?’
‘Oh! Oh! Me, me! Pick me!’ Shimlara waved both arms around in the air as if Nicola was a teacher.
‘Shimlara?’ said Nicola, trying to keep a straight face.
‘Your pocket! Your pocket! Look in your pocket!’
‘My pocket?’
‘Your pocket! Your back pocket!’
Nicola didn’t know what she was talking about. She gave Topaz an apologetic look as if to say Sorry about the Space Brigade’s wacky behaviour and slid her hand into her pocket. She pulled out a small white card.
Nicola looked at it without recognition.
It said:
JENNY JENKINS
REPORTER
THE SHOBBLE TIMES
TIX NO: 993-98080891083409840983098340893091
48130043
Suddenly Nicola remembered the reporter at the gates of Enrico’s house. Jenny Jenkins. Wasn’t that the name of the person who had written the article about Katie? She was obviously prepared to stand up to Enrico. She would be perfect.
Nicola gave Shimlara a grateful look and handed the card to Topaz. ‘This reporter said to call if we needed anything. I’m pretty sure she’s on our side.’
‘Fantastic,’ said Topaz.
‘What’s a tix number?’ asked Nicola.
Topaz looked at her with surprise. ‘They haven’t invented the tix on Earth yet? It’s an apparatus where you talk to each other through wires.’
‘Wow,’ said Nicola, impressed, until Tyler said, ‘Um, Nic, I think we call that the telephone on Earth.’
‘Anyway, it’s not relevant,’ said Topaz. ‘Enrico cut all the tix lines for ordinary people years ago. Only hairities can use them. But don’t w
orry, I’ll send a message through the underground chute. It’s a system my supporters use that the hairities don’t know about. We use a network of old marshmallow mineshafts.’ She held out the palm of her hand. ‘Serena?’
Serena was already handing over a scroll of paper. She was just like a nurse handing over the right instruments before the surgeon asked for them. Mmmm, thought Nicola. Now that’s leadership. She could just imagine Sean’s face if she held out her hand and said, ‘Sean?’
Topaz scribbled something on the piece of parchment. In the meantime, Joshua was addressing a label: Attention: Jenny Jenkins, Shobble Times. When Topaz finished writing she handed the parchment to Serena. Serena rolled up the parchment and put it in the tube, which she handed to Joshua. He stuck the label on the tube and walked over to the wall of the cave, moved aside a small rock and dropped in the tube. It all happened in a matter of seconds.
‘You work pretty well together,’ commented Tyler.
‘It’s all about teamwork,’ said Topaz.
‘Well the problem is,’ said Greta, ‘Nicola doesn’t play any team sports. That’s why the Space Brigade doesn’t have good teamwork.’
‘We kind of have a rule that we never say negative things about each other,’ commented Topaz.
‘Oh yes, but I don’t think that could work for us,’ said Greta airily. ‘Some of us have a lot of things to improve, don’t we, Nicola?’
Nicola’s hand clenched so tight around her marker it flew from her grasp.
‘Anyway,’ said Topaz hastily, ‘moving right along. Now what about your friend Katie? How are we going to rescue her?’
‘Actually, that won’t be necessary.’
Nicola spun around so fast she sent the whiteboard crashing to the ground. There was someone standing at the entrance to the cave. Someone with a big smile on her face. Someone with short shiny straight brown hair.
If Nicola could have wished for one person in the whole world to be standing in that particular spot it would have been this particular person.
‘Katie?’ she whispered.
And then she yelled it: ‘KATIE!’
34
‘It’s me,’ said Katie. ‘It’s really me.’
There was a shocked pause followed by gasps, exclamations and a clatter of chairs and feet as the Space Brigade stampeded towards the cave entrance and Katie.
‘I can’t believe it,’ everyone kept saying as they threw their arms around Katie. ‘I can’t believe you’re here! How did you escape? How did you get here?’
Sean hugged Katie, ruffled her hair and smacked her vigorously on the back as if he was trying to save her from choking. Then he suddenly stood back and looked at her suspiciously. ‘Hey, it really is you, isn’t it? You’re not about to peel off your face to reveal one of Enrico’s Security Thugs?’
Katie pinched her cheek. ‘There’s only me in here.’
But she did look different. There were shadows under her eyes and scratches on her face. Her clothes were wet and dirty. Her new short hairstyle made her neck seem longer and changed the shape of her face. Even though she was filthy and obviously exhausted, she looked somehow more confident and mature than the old Katie.
‘Nic, ask her a question only the real Katie could answer,’ ordered Sean.
‘Oh, um, I can’t think of one.’
‘Okay, how’s this?’ said Katie. ‘When we were in kindergarten, Tyler, Nicola and I made a really embarrassing secret pact we’ve never told anyone –’
‘QUIET!’ shouted Tyler and Nicola at the same time. ‘It’s the real Katie!’
Nicola introduced Katie to Topaz, Serena and Joshua. ‘
I’m impressed that you managed to escape from Enrico’s hostage room,’ said Topaz.
‘Oh, well, I had a lot of help,’ said Katie.
‘Have some hizza and tell us about it,’ offered Joshua.
‘Hizza!’ said Katie. ‘I was just thinking I could smell hizza!’
Gosh, thought Nicola. She sounds as if she’s been living on Shobble for years. It gave her a sad, almost jealous feeling thinking of all the things Katie had experienced without her. Would their friendship be different now?
‘Katie, your hair looks great!’ said Shimlara. ‘We were so upset when we heard Enrico had cut it off but it really suits you.’
‘He didn’t cut if off,’ said Katie with a mouth full of hizza. ‘That’s how all this started. I was just so sick of the whole “hairity” business, I asked Joy to cut it off for me. You see, I found out there was a Katie Hobbs fan club and that was just too much. Can you think of anything worse – a fan club just for me!’ She took another huge bite of hizza.
‘I’m pretty sure the girls at school have a secret Sean Berry fan club,’ said Sean. He ran his fingers through his hair like a rock star. ‘It doesn’t worry me.’
‘Well, I didn’t like it. After it was cut I felt great. Then that article appeared in the newspaper and the fan club started holding candlelit vigils outside Enrico’s mansion. They were chanting poems all about “letting Katie go” and how I should be free like a bird or something. Anyway, it was driving Enrico nuts. So after I cut my hair he paraded me in front of them, saying, “Look! She’s not even a hairity!” He thought that would be the end of my fan club. The funny thing was . . .’
Katie stopped, looking shy.
‘What?’ prompted Nicola.
‘Well,’ said Katie, ‘they still liked me. Actually, they seemed to like me even more. Enrico couldn’t believe it. The problem was that it sent Enrico into a jealous rage. He kept saying to them, “But why? Why do you like her? Look at her hair! Do you like her more than me? Why don’t you start a fan club for me?” And when he said that, someone laughed. Well, that was it. Enrico decided to starve me.’
‘Oh, no!’ said Nicola. ‘I knew you looked thinner!’
‘No, no,’ said Katie. ‘Joy and Silent Fred were sneaking plenty of food in to me. Lots of hizza. Also, I’d made friends with some of the Security Thugs because of our Scrabble games, so they were bringing me food to eat too. But then Enrico started visiting me to see how much I was suffering and it infuriated him the way I was still smiling. He kept saying to the Thugs, “I want to see her miserable! Why doesn’t she look sadder? She looks happier than my own children!” (Well, it wasn’t my fault. Those twins are such whiners.) Anyway, Enrico decided the only solution was to reduce my oxygen intake –’
‘WHAT?’ said Sean. ‘He tried to suffocate you?’
‘Well, that’s when Joy and Silent Fred and the Katie Hobbs Fan Club and the nice Security Thugs all got together and came up with this plan to smuggle me out. They distracted the nasty Security Thugs with a fake fire and then I had to climb down this rope ladder from my window in the middle of the night . . .’
‘You must have been terrified,’ said Nicola.
‘I was – but it was better than suffocating. They had the most beautiful ShobGobble waiting for me. I had to learn how to ride pretty fast! You have to be really light with your feather-whip, don’t you?’
‘So you rode all the way here on a ShobGobble?’ said Greta. ‘All on your own?’
‘Yes,’ said Katie. She smiled tiredly at them. ‘I didn’t think I could do it but I guess I did. Of course, when I came through the Valley of High Hopes I thought I could do anything! Oh, and when I was in the valley I came upon this huge family reunion. They said it was all thanks to the Space Brigade! This old man called Horatio Banks couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful you all were. Oh, and a girl called Barbie said she hoped your arm was okay, Nicola. What happened to your arm?’
‘A Biter,’ explained Nicola, and then she said, ‘Hey, does that mean you crossed the Raging River on your own? You had to fight off the Biters all by yourself?’
‘Yes,’ said Katie. ‘But I crossed it at night. Apparently, the Biters can’t see as well at night, so you’re less likely to be bitten.’
‘You crossed that river on your own at night!’ said Tyler. He
shook his head. ‘You are – you are –’
‘A legend,’ completed Sean.
‘My hero,’ completed Shimlara.
‘Stop it,’ said Katie. ‘That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was when I was crossing the Sweet Dream Swamplands during the hurricane. Although I shouldn’t complain. I looked up at one point and saw a hot-air balloon. Can you believe it? It looked like it was going to smash into the mountain. I felt so sorry for those people!’
‘That was us!’ yelled the Space Brigade as one.
‘You’re kidding!’ said Katie.
‘So I guess now you’ve got Katie back you don’t need to help us with the revolution,’ said Topaz, once they’d all stopped exchanging stories. ‘You’ll probably be wanting to go straight back to Earth.’
Nicola was about to answer but Katie got in first. ‘No way! We have to help you! Silent Fred and Joy are keeping Enrico away from the Hostage Room by pretending that I’ve caught some sort of horrible contagious disease, but they won’t be able to keep that up forever. Enrico will find out the truth eventually and I don’t want anyone to get in trouble because of me when he does.’
‘That’s not your responsibility. We’d understand if you wanted to return home,’ said Serena.
‘We wouldn’t just desert you,’ said Nicola.
‘We can’t go back to Earth,’ said Tyler.
‘We must do our duty,’ agreed Nicola. Our noble duty, she thought grandly to herself.
‘No, I mean we can’t,’ said Tyler. ‘Enrico has still got our spaceship, remember?’
‘Oh, that’s right,’ said Nicola. It somehow didn’t feel quite so noble once she realised they were trapped on Shobble.
‘He’s keeping it under his bed,’ said Shimlara unexpectedly.
‘How do you know that?’ asked Tyler.
‘I remember reading his mind when he took it,’ said Shimlara. ‘He thought, The little peasants will never think to look under my bed.’
‘That’s really creepy the way you do that,’ said Joshua.
The Shocking Trouble on the Planet of Shobble Page 14